Jewelers of America Names 2026 GEM Award Winners at Annual Gala

The crowd at Cipriani 42nd Street filled every seat. Jewelers of America's 24th annual GEM Awards, chaired by Marion Fasel of The Adventurine, drew a sold-out house to the Midtown Manhattan venue on March 13 for an evening that honored the people and brands doing the most to elevate fine jewelry and watches in the public imagination.

Mark and Candy Udell of London Jewelers received the GEM Award for Lifetime Achievement, the evening's most personal recognition. The Udells have built one of the country's most respected independent retail operations over decades, and their award reflects a career defined by sustained excellence rather than a single moment.

The night's most visually striking presentation came when Linda Evangelista took the stage to present the GEM Award for High Jewelry Excellence to Ana Khouri. Khouri's sculptural, body-conscious approach to fine jewelry has made her one of the more distinctive voices in the high jewelry conversation, and having Evangelista, a figure whose relationship with jewelry-as-fashion spans several decades, make the presentation carried its own editorial weight.

Silvia Furmanovich won the GEM Award for Jewelry Design, besting nominees Catherine Sarr of ALMASIKA and Cece Fein-Hughes of Cece Jewellery. Thomas Waller took the GEM Award for Media Excellence over nominees Nicole Martine Chapoteau, Vanity Fair's fashion director whose styling credits include Regina King, Bad Bunny, and Simone Biles, and Emili Vesilind. Jessica McCormack won the GEM Award for Retail Innovation, a recognition that arrived alongside a striking set of business numbers: the London-based, female-led brand grew from £9 million in revenue in 2020 to over £30 million in 2024, opened its first U.S. store on Madison Avenue in 2025, and launched a concession in Harrods the same year. Each piece the brand produces is made in its in-house Mayfair workshop, a detail that makes those growth figures more remarkable, not less.

The David Yurman GEM Awards Grant went to Johnny Nelson. David Yurman described Nelson's work in terms that went beyond craft: "What truly sets Johnny apart is the meaning embedded in his work. His designs fuse his own heritage, identity, and artistry, creating pieces that spark conversation and invite reflection." Yurman framed the grant as a long-term commitment, saying it "reflects our long-term vision and belief in nurturing what's next for innovative jewelry design."

The GEM Awards Committee that shaped this year's honorees included Sarin Bachmann of JCK and LUXURY, Sam Broekema of the Natural Diamond Council, Dorit Engel of CHANEL, Jennifer Gandia of Greenwich St. Jewelers, Michelle Graff of National Jeweler, Sally Morrison of De Beers Group, and Lauren Harwell Godfrey of Harwell Godfrey, among others. Proceeds from the event support Jewelers of America's programs aimed at strengthening consumer confidence in fine jewelry and watches, giving the gala a function beyond celebration.

For Johnny Nelson, the grant marks an early-career inflection point underwritten by one of the industry's most recognized names. For the Udells, it closes a chapter with the field's most formal expression of respect. Both outcomes, separated by decades of experience, point to the same thing: the GEM Awards remain the industry's clearest signal of who is shaping fine jewelry's future and who built its present.